STARLINGS 



237 



first forty miles of Loiii,' Island, u]> tlu' Hudson 

 River to Ossining and beyond, throuj,di much of 

 eastern New Jersey and into Pennsylvania and 

 Delaware. 



When the brief period that has elapsed since 

 the introduction of the Starling and the small 

 number introduced are considered, it must be 

 conceded that the increase and the dissemination 

 of the species have been rapid. It has not in- 

 creased or spread so rapidly as did the House 

 Sparrow, but the Sparrow's numbers sprang not 

 from one importation, but from many, that took 

 place at widely scattered localities during a series 

 of years, something that has been prevented in 

 the case of the Starling. Its increase has been 



acme of caution and intelligence in its relations 

 with man or any other creature too power- 

 ful to master. While it is comparatively fear- 

 less where it is unmolested, it is always on guard. 

 and if hunted becomes more wary than a Crow. 

 It is a handsome bird, and though it has httle 

 merit as a songster, it has many j)leasant whist- 

 ling and chattering notes and some talent as a 

 mimic. Its alarm note is a harsh, rasping low- 

 pitched call. 



Its insect-eating habits, its beauty, and its 

 cheery notes have already made it many strong 

 friends in this country who will protect it 

 stoutly : and this protection, together with the 

 bird's ability to take care of itself and kee]) out 



Drawing by R. Bruce Horsfall 



STARLING (j nat. size) 

 A naturalized American citizen of questionable character 



rapid in most of the region now occupied by 

 it, where it is in many places second in numbers 

 only to the Sparrow and the Robin. 



The increase and spread of the Starling is due 

 to its fecundity and its general fitness for the 

 battle of life. It often has two broods in Amer- 

 ica, as it has in Europe. The Starling's physical 

 fitness for the struggle for supremacy is seen at 

 once on an examination of its anatomy. It is 

 a very hardy, muscular, and powerful bird. It 

 has the physical characteristics of a Crow. It is 

 exceedingly tough and wiry, and the bill, its 

 principal weapon of ofTense and defense, is 

 superior in shape to that of the Crow. It is 

 nearly straight, long and heavy, tapering, and 

 nearly as keen as a meat ax, while the skull 

 that backs it is almost as strong as that of a 

 Woodpecker. Mentally the Starling is superior 

 to the Sparrow, and, while brave and active in 

 the face of anv foe that it can master, it shows the 



of danger, precludes all possibihty of its exter- 

 mination here if it proves undesirable. 



Were rewards or bounties offered with a view 

 to its extinction. Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, and 

 other native species, which consort with the Star- 

 ling, would be among the chief sufferers. The 

 Starling is here to stay, and we must make the 

 best of it. Whether its presence will result in 

 more good than harm will depend largely on 

 the ratio of its increase. We now know enough 

 of its habits in tliis country to forecast some of 

 the results that may be expected from an excess 

 of the species. 



When any animal is successfully introduced 

 into a new country, and increases rapidly, its 

 advent naturally tends to upset the biologic bal- 

 ance. Its native natural enemies have been left 

 behind in its own country, where it had a settled 

 and established place in a series of natural forces 

 that had been in existence for centuries, and it 



